The Clock
by catlynarya
Summary: Hermione and Draco compete.


A/N : This is written for The Houses Competition

House : Ravenclaw

Year : 2

Theme : Rivalry

Colour : Glaucous

Prompt : [Sound] The ticking of a clock

Word count : 1128

I do not own HP or any part of the HP universe. This could probably be considered an AU story.

* * *

 _Tick, tick, tick, tick…_

She gazed out of the window at the glaucous blue sky, waiting for the clock to tick down the remaining minutes before she could turn in the exam. She was confident that she would get a perfect score on this exam, as she always did. She had finished the exam in record time, meaning that now she had to wait so that she wouldn't be the first one to turn hers in. She always waited for him to turn his in and then she would turn hers in after a few more students had turned in theirs. This was it, the final O.W.L.s exam for their 5th year.

 _Tick, tick, tick, tick…_

The clock moved slowly toward the hour when time would be up for the exam. ' _I wonder if anyone actually knows what glaucous means?'_ she thought absently to herself.

"You can turn your paper in now," a whisper sounded in her ear.

Startled, she jumped and gazed at the blond boy's back as he walked to the front of the room. ' _How'd he know?'_ she thought and hurriedly shoved her things into her bag and made her way up to the professor's desk.

Outside the classroom, she saw him casually leaned against the wall. "You know, Granger, just because you wait to turn in until I have doesn't make you better than me. It doesn't mean you will get a better grade," he said.

"Shut it, Malfoy. What makes you think I was waiting for you to turn in your paper?" Hermione asked.

"You _always_ wait for me to turn in first. You think no one knows, but everyone does," Draco stated and pushed off the wall, advancing on her.

Hermione backed up away from him until she encountered the wall at her back. "So what if I don't want to be the first to turn in. That doesn't mean that I'm waiting for you to turn in," she scoffed.

Draco smirked at her, "If you weren't so insufferable, you might be considered cute when you are blushing."

Hermione gasped, "Just you wait, Malfoy. I will get more and better O.W.L.s than you and get into more N.E.W.T. classes."

Draco guffawed. "You wish. I'm smarter than you, richer than you, and better than you in _everything_ , Granger. Always have been and always will be." He placed one hand on the wall near her head and leaned forward as he spoke.

Hermione laughed, albeit nervously, "Whatever helps you sleep at night, Malfoy. We'll see when results come out."

"Yes, we will, Granger. Yes, we will," he said, his face a breath away from hers. His eyes flicked to her lips briefly and he licked his own. He suddenly pushed away from the wall and stalked off.

* * *

 _Later that day in the Great Hall at the closing feast._

"So, Hermione, do you think you got all Os?" Harry asked.

"I hope so. At least, I hope I get more than Malfoy. Maybe that will prove that I am better than him," she answered, taking a sip of juice.

"Don't count on it, Granger," Malfoy called from behind her.

' _When did he start sitting so close?'_ she asked herself.

"Shut up, Malfoy. It's rude to listen in on conversations," she said as she adjusted the glaucous sweater she was wearing. She did so love the colour. It was always reminded her of the sky and lying out on the grass in the cool breeze in the summertime at home.

"Nice colour, Granger. It does clash so very well with that bush on your head," Draco called out and his friends laughed out loud at his insult.

Hermione's face turned red from anger. She hated Malfoy so much. "Don't respond, Hermione. That's what he wants. If you respond, then he knows that he got to you," Harry told her and placed a hand on her arm.

"I hate him so much, Harry. I wish he would just go away and leave us alone," she said, taking a few deep breaths and thinking about the glaucous sky that she was gazing at earlier. She wondered if it was still the same colour now that it was during the exam.

* * *

 _Months later at the Burrow_

"Kids! The post is here with letters for you all. Probably new term letters," Molly Weasley shouted up the stairs.

The thundering of feet could be heard as six people raced down the stairs to get their letters, eager for results and news of a new year. Fred and George were first to arrive in the kitchen, followed closely by Hermione, Harry, Ron, and Ginny.

The ticking of the clock was the only sound heard as they all became immersed in their letters.

Hermione sat down abruptly. "Hermione, dear, are you alright?" Molly asked rushing to her side.

Hermione shook her head, "An E in Potions? An E? That man is awful. He hates me," she cried.

"O.W.L. scores came with the letters, mum," Ron explained.

"Ah, well, dear, an E is still great. How many Os did you get?" Molly asked the young brunette.

"All my others were Os, just the one E," Hermione said.

"Well, that's fantastic, dear. You should be able to take all the N.E.W.T.s that you want to," Molly said, hugging Hermione to her.

"I wonder what Malfoy got," Hermione said absently, still staring at the paper in front of her. The ticking clock sounded loudly in the silence that followed.

* * *

 _Malfoy Manor_

"Draco, dear, your Hogwarts letter is here," Narcissa called up to her son.

Draco sprinted down the stairs. "Great, O.W.L scores should be in there," he stated. A soft ticking was heard from the clock in the foyer as he scanned the letter.

"Well? How many Os?" Lucius said impatiently.

"All Os, except one. I got an E in Defense," Draco said and let out the breath he hadn't realised he was holding.

"Well, that's not too bad, Draco. One E is not too bad," Narcissa said, as she hugged her son to her.

"Having an E will hurt all of your chances, son. You can do much better," Lucius sneered. "I wonder how many Os the mudblood got. She has always had higher marks than you."

Draco stared at the letter like it would catch fire in his hands. He was thinking back to the last feast at Hogwarts and that glaucous sweater she was wearing. It really did look good on her and she smiled more when she was wearing that colour.

The clock in the foyer ticked softly, reminding them all that he would be leaving soon for school once again. _Thank Merlin for that._


End file.
